


Two Hearts

by RomeoandAntoinette



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Budding Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gift Giving, Implied Sexual Content, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-22 15:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22718104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomeoandAntoinette/pseuds/RomeoandAntoinette
Summary: Corrin and Jakob celebrate Valentine's Day one time as friends, the second time as something more. [Jakob/Corrin] [Valentine's Day fluff]
Relationships: Joker | Jakob & My Unit | Kamui | Corrin, Joker | Jakob/My Unit | Kamui | Corrin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33





	Two Hearts

Jakob rose from his bed as reluctantly as he did every other morning.

He pulled himself from the comfort of his hand-woven blankets and blinked into the darkness, trying to adjust his eyes. While no morning was ever a preferable time for Jakob to rise, winter mornings were especially brutal thanks to their darkness. After a few moments of groaning, he finally stumbled to a small counter in the corner of his room in the servant’s quarters. There, he washed up with a copper bowl of tepid water adorned with a few rose petals for fragrance. 

While he didn’t mind the brisk winter chill the permeated his bedroom in the colder season, he still dressed quickly and efficiently. Lofting around in his sleeping clothes made him feel lazy.

With a small ribbon, the main tied back his long hair and brushed it to pristine smoothness. No flyaways or loose hairs were permitted.

His first impression was that it was going to be another winter day like any other. The butler planned to spend the day lighting fires, chopping firewood and warming pots of broth for food. Laundry would have to be done indoors as well because of how drearily still the weather was.

The one point Jakob found some comfort in was how quiet the halls were. The corridors of the secluded Northern Fortress was always silent before dawn, except for the occasional pitter-patter of footsteps through the halls from servants like him. For security reasons, there was always at least one person awake to keep watch over the fortress and its inhabitants, including its one royal resident.

As he exited his private chamber and padded down the halls to begin his routine of chores and cooking, small noises began to catch his attention. The flutter of footsteps. The swishing of fabric.

Every strange noise was small but just enough to penetrate his sensory threshold. The footsteps were faster and softer than the signature clicking that often sounded from the servants’ heeled shoes.

The noises also seemed to grow louder as he neared the castle main hall. As if he was being followed.

Finally, when he was mere paces away from the North Fortress’ kitchen area, he swiveled on his heel and brandished a knife from the pouch strapped to his thigh. Even when he was lofting about the citadel or attending to mundane chores, he was always armed.

“Come on out,” he ordered, his voice bouncing down the stone corridor. “Show yourself!”

The strange figure did just that. However, their ascent from the dark corner was accompanied by a musical laugh.

A laugh Jakob was all too familiar with.

“It’s good to know that my retainer is as attentive as ever,” Princess Corrin remarked as she stepped out of the darkness. She was donned in a long, velvet dress and bolero to protect her from the winter chill. However, she remained ironically shoeless.

The color drained from Jakob’s face as she sheathed his weapon hurriedly.

“Lady Corrin!” he sighed, feigning annoyance despite how sharply his heart had dropped in his chest. “You mustn’t go sneaking around like that. I could have hurt you!”

She rolled her eyes. “Jakob, please. We both know that isn’t true.”

He crossed his arms at her. “That you shouldn’t be sneaking around?”

“That you would ever hurt me,” she corrected with a smile.

At this, he turned red. He also couldn’t argue with her.

Before he had the chance to chide the princess for seemingly blatant disregard of correct social protocol, Corrin had already begun to walk forward and close the distance between them. Her hair bounced and her hips swayed as she practically bounced down the corridor to greet him. All the while, her hands remained firmly clasped behind her back.

“Lady Corrin?” he asked, lifting a brow at her. “You certainly seem cheery for someone who is awake so early in the morning.”

Her teeth bit into her raspberry-colored lip. Even if her cheeky expression hadn’t been so poorly masked, her glowing eyes still gave away her excitement. “I had to get up before everyone else because I wanted to surprise you.”

He chuckled and planted a hand on one of his hips. “You’ve already surprised me plenty. What else could you possibly have in store?”

She hummed ambiguously. Then, when she was finally close enough, she brandished the secret that she’d been hiding from him.

There, in her hands, sat a brooch.

“How about this?” she asked playfully.

Nestled between Corrin’s palms was a handmade brooch featuring a tumbled emerald set in gold. The texture of the metal was shiny but mottled, as if it had been molded into its shape with a mallet. The green gem in the middle glittered like a cat’s eye. Its vibrant color was only intensified by the bleakness of everything else around them. In a world where the Nohrian sky shrouded everything in silvery moonlight and every article of clothing or furniture item featured the kingdom’s signature color scheme of dark purple and black, the brooch stood out in every aspect. It had been a long time since he’d seen something so bright.

“It’s lovely,” he said. The praise was genuine.

“It’s for _you_ ,” she added with a coquettish tilt of the head. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

The confession rendered Jakob even more shocked than before. “For me?”

She nodded excitedly. “Yes! I made it for you.”

He redirected his eyes back to the gift. While the small ornament did appear to be handmade, it was remarkably fine in its craftsmanship.

It was only when he inspected the brooch more closely that he saw the small burn marks and cuts that adorned Corrin’s hands and fingers. The sores vanished beyond the frilled edges of her sleeves, and he didn’t want to guess how far up her arms they ventured.

The rest of the world seemed to move in slow motion as his mind wandered. How long had she been working on this? How many others had helped her buy the materials and tools needed to craft him – a lowly servant – such a lovely present?

Drunk on the lovesick blood his heart was pumping to his brain, he found himself too stunned to react. He could only stand and stare in disbelief at the gift she presented him.

“I hope you like it,” she added, flustered by his silence. “Do you want to know why I chose green? I was going to use an amethyst, but you already have so many purple things, so I wanted to get you something different! And, um…I think the green pairs nicely with your eyes. They’re purple, and combined with the green, they kind of remind me of lavender fields.”

While Corrin rambled on, obviously unaware of the power her words had over him, it was all he could do to not lean in and embrace her. What he wanted nothing more was to pull her into his arms and cradle her close.

He wanted to show her, somehow or someway, just how appreciative he was of her devotion. He longed to show her how much he cared.

Yet, he was duty-bound in his obligations. Jakob was a staunch professional, and as such, he kept his emotions at bay.

He reached up and gently took the brooch from her hands. “I adore it. Thank you, Lady Corrin. I will wear it every day.”

Corrin face practically lit up from within. “Really? You mean it?”

As he pinned the brooch onto his chemise, he made sure the gem was placed right over his heart.

“I do.”

* * *

Jakob rose early that morning. While he didn’t enjoy rising early, on many occasions, this specific morning was an exception. He carefully rolled his body so he could glimpse over his shoulder.

There, he saw a sleeping face pressed against the opposite pillow.

Her pale hair was a tangled halo about her head, and her cheek was mashed against the soft satin of the large pillow they shared. Her lashes, deep and dark, fluttered against her cheeks.

Then, after a few moments, Corrin seemed to sense his lingering stare and opened her sanguine eyes. With a blush, she laughed against the pillow and rolled over. Her bare shoulders prickled with gooseflesh because of how cold the room was. Even with the fireplace blazing in the corner, the winter chill had still permeated the room.

“Good morning,” Jakob cooed, his voice just as soft as it would have been if he was rousing her from sleep. During their early days on the battlefield, he’d done just that. He'd personally taken to waking her up every morning and helping her get ready for the day. On those occasions, he always made sure to gently rouse her from sleep in a manner that was tender but polite.

A few things had changed since those early days. While he still woke her every morning, they two now shared a bedroom, among many other things.

Corrin waggled her brow at him. “' _Good_ ' morning? I thought you hated getting up early.”

He shrugged as he threaded his fingers, warm from sleep, through her pale curls. “I suppose you’ve changed me for the better.”

The woman sat up, using one hand to keep the covers from slipping down her torso. “I don’t know how I feel about that. If you start to actually enjoy mornings, how am I going to hold you hostage in bed on cold days like this?”

Jakob titled his head back and laughed. Such a comment would have rendered him a blushing fool years ago. It was another way that Corrin’s easy-going, optimistic, charismatic, determined and powerful persona had changed him for the better.

"I don't suspect you'll have a problem with that," Jakob remarked. "You needn't worry. This morning is an exception."

Corin sat up and crossed her ankled curiously. "Oh?"

“I was going to get up early this morning anyway,” he said. He spun his fingers so he could coil his hair loosely around his fist. Then, he placed a delicate kiss on the pale loop. “I wanted to surprise you.”

The woman sank deeper into the pillows, endlessly relaxed by his touch. “Please, you surprised me plenty last night.”

As she shifted in bed, the covers budged just enough to reveal a trail of pink and red bite marks across her collar and down her chest. Her grin was nothing short of catlike as her fingers danced across the sore spots in delight.

“I don’t know what else you could do,” she chuckled. 

Jakob hummed ambiguously. The teasing inspired her to swat his shoulder lightly, just enough to snap his skin without causing pain.

In response to her prodding, he finally reached under the pillow and produced a small sachet made of velvet.

Inside the small package tumbled out a gold band, decorated with a heart-shaped ruby. The band was the perfect size to fit on Corrin’s ring finger.

Words were lost on her because she knew exactly why he’d gifted it to her.

She knew, even without words, the reason behind the gift. It was _so much more_ than a ring.

Mere months before, their wedding ceremony had been so rushed and so secretive that they hadn’t had time to exchange rings. Instead, they were wed by nightfall in a speedy ceremony that her sister Elise officiated as an official Nohrian royal. The woman’s retainers, Arthur and Effie, served as witnesses.

Their union was official, but there was no time for frivolities. Only the utterance of quick vows that were sealed with a kiss.

Now, she held a symbol of their love in her hand. A tiny, red heart she could wear before the world and the foes that dared try to lay a hand on her family and loved ones.

“Jakob…thank you,” she said. Warm tears hit the bedsheets as she held the ring out. He gingerly accepted it and, with her nod of affirmation, slid it on her finger like he would have months ago during their ceremony. “I’m going to wear it every day. I’m never taking it off.”

The man squeezed her hands tightly in his own.

“You really like it?” he asked. His lavender eyes shining were shining. 

“I do,” she swore devoutly as she leaned in. "I really do."

This time, they were able to hold each other safe and secure against each other's hearts.

Where they truly belonged.

**Author's Note:**

> Love can bloom, even in a bedroom before dawn.
> 
> Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!
> 
> This is my sweet little gift to everyone who can’t (or doesn’t want to) treat themselves to something today. I hope you enjoyed it! And a happy Discount Chocolate Day [Feb. 15] to everyone too!


End file.
